United Township grad bikes across country raising money for children’s hospitals

A veteran and QC-native is taking a bike ride across the country to help sick children in honor of a fallen fellow Marine.

Former Marine, Jay Knight was in the midst of a 4,400 mile trek across America and he stopped home in the QC on Friday, May 30, 2014 on his way out to Washington.

Knight, a United Township graduate, told News 8 that he is part of an organization called Pax2Pax that raises money and awareness of a charity called Child’s Play that helps improve the lives of sick kids in the hospital by providing them with toys and games.

“We’re not just giving toys to kids, we’re giving tools to trained professionals to distract children from what they’re going through to help them through some of the worst possible things that you can imagine a child having to fight through,” Knight said.

Knight said his participation in the ride was inspired by his friend Johnny Strong from Texas who was killed in Iraq in 2007. Knight describes his friend as caring and hard-working.

They began their journey on April 11 in Boston, and set out to land in Seattle by August 30. He said it took a little while to get used to riding so much, but it’s been a good trip so far and they’ve kept on schedule.

Knight said he planned to visit two dozen children’s hospitals along the way.

Their goal was to have raised $100,000 by the time they get to Washington. If you would like more information on the cause, or would like to donate – click here.